8After making major films such as “The Name of the Rose” with Sean Connery or “7 Years in Tibet” with Brad Pitt, Jean-Jacques Annaud decided to focus on shooting with animals and chose “Bear” or “The Last Wolf.”
I had the opportunity to work with him personally in one of these films. It was “SM Minor”, a super production shot at the studios of Ciudad de la Luz a few years ago. By then, I had already done some important productions. He had worked with Carlos Saura and was immersed in filming “Asterix and Obelix at the Olympic Games”, another super production with well-known names such as Elsa Pataki, Gérard Depardieu or Alain Delon in the cast.
My role in all these shots was to ensure the welfare of the animals participating in them. For example, in Asterix and Obelix, we built a stable that could house more than fifty horses one by one, and we even managed to take healing baths in sea water.
In the case of “SM Minor”, our task was to ensure that the pigs participating in their films also have maximum comfort. To do this, we installed artificial ponds and multiple individual showers in their swimming pools so they can drink whenever they want. Utmost attention was also paid to the quality of everything they ate, providing them with top quality food and supplements that come directly from France. Even their personal vet came from Paris to take care of them.
In reality, the animals were not required to perform major actions during the shoot, they simply appeared in different set-up shots. But sometimes they refused to do so. Then, patient and understanding with animals, director Jean-Jacques Annaud would send us all home and postpone the shoot for another day, always shouting in perfect French -Tout le monde à la maison!
So I once asked him why he makes movies with animals if sometimes it’s so complicated to do it, and he said that sometimes it’s definitely, but always a lot easier than shooting movies with stars. Now this is difficult “mon ami”.